The FSB said on Sunday that a Russian national suspected of having shot and wounded General Vladimir Alexeyev 48 hours ago in Moscow had been arrested in Dubai and extradited to Russia. One of his accomplices was arrested in Moscow, while another is said to have managed to flee to Ukraine.
Published on: 02/08/2026 - 3:35 p.m.
The alleged perpetrator of the attempted assassination of a senior Russian military official in Moscow, blamed on Ukraine, was arrested after fleeing to the United Arab Emirates, the Russian security services (FSB) announced on Sunday February 8.
Russian media broadcast images of the suspect, blindfolded, escorted by hooded FSB agents as his plane landed, after being extradited to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Saturday evening to thank him for his help.
General Vladimir Alekseyev was targeted by several shots on Friday and hospitalized, after a series of assassinations in Russia and Ukrainian territories controlled by Moscow of army figures, local political leaders and ideological supporters of the conflict, some of which were claimed by Ukraine.
Vladimir Alekseyev, who survived, is the first deputy of the head of the Russian military intelligence service Igor Kostyukov, the head of the Russian delegation to the peace talks with Ukraine.
FSB accuses Russian citizen
According to the FSB, a Russian citizen born in 1960, considered "the direct perpetrator of the crime", was "arrested and handed over to Russia" after fleeing to Dubai. One of his accomplices was arrested in Moscow, while a woman, another accomplice, managed to flee to Ukraine, said the FSB, cited by Russian news agencies.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the shooting. "We don't know what happened to this particular general; maybe it's their own internal wars," Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said on Friday.
Aged 64, General Alekseyev is sanctioned in the West for his alleged role in cyberattacks attributed to Russia and accused of having organized a nerve agent attack against a Russian defector, Sergei Skripal, in the United Kingdom, in 2018.
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According to his official biography, he particularly distinguished himself during intelligence operations in Syria where Russia intervened militarily in 2015 against rebels and jihadists and in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov accused kyiv, which has not reacted so far, of seeking to derail ongoing negotiations on an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
With AFP and Reuters
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